However, it was curtains on the steep ramp before the finish in Orvieto, as the Briton lost nearly three minutes to stage winner and new leader Weening.

The day also saw another horror crash, sustained by Rabobank rider Tom Jelte Slagter. The Dutchman fractured his jawbone, received contusions and needed stitches for a wound, but was cleared of brain damage at Orvieto Hospital.

While peers Danilo di Luca and Alessandro Petacchi criticised the inclusion of the strade bianche in this year’s race, Millar hinted that the risk doesn’t change: “It was dangerous, but it’s like that. We had to be extra careful, but the ambulances were always near by.”

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